Is Leprosy hereditary? No
Can Leprosy be treated? Yes
Is the treatment affordable? It’s free.
Then why are there so many people with Leprosy affected disabilities?
Here in lies the problem. That’s exactly why the Sasakawa Foundation and Youth against Leprosy are trying to change.
What are the main challenges with Leprosy?
Fighting leprosy: S-ILF Sasakawa India Leprosy Foundation.
How are the Sasakawa foundation scholarships helping?
10 Facts you must know about Leprosy
What are the main challenges with Leprosy?
- The main challenge still is early diagnosis and treatment
- Practical problems in detection. All parts of the body have to be checked in good light. But the places at the primary health care level are often lacking such facility.
- The social stigma of the disease and rehabilitation
- Streamlining those living with challenges, to a life with dignity.
- Increasing resources toward monitoring and controlling leprosy.
- Rehabilitation of the patients at the economic and social level.
LEPROSY: All you need to know
Nippon Foundation
The journey to fight and eliminate leprosy became easier when MDT(multi drug therapy) was approved by WHO. The Nippon Foundation and their chairman Yohei Sasakawa worked tirelessly towards this goal. He was chosen as the Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy and there was no looking back. The Global Appeal to End Stigma and Discrimination Against People Affected by Leprosy happens annually across the world to spread awareness. In India, it started with S-ILF or Sasakawa India Leprosy Foundation.
Fighting leprosy: S-ILF Sasakawa India Leprosy Foundation.
In this challenging background, Sasakawa India Leprosy Foundation (S-ILF) has brought a ray of hope. Sasakawa-India Leprosy Foundation (S-ILF) established in November 2006, with inspiration from Mr. Yohei Sasakawa, WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy eradication.
What is S-ILF doing?
They are helping in mainstreaming leprosy affected persons by socio-economic inclusion and empowerment. Sasakawa-India Leprosy Foundation (S-ILF) is fighting leprosy from both ends. Fight the disease with early diagnosis and treatment. Fight the stigma, social economic issues with social, support and financial help.
How are the Sasakawa foundation scholarships helping?
The story of Shankari born to parents with leprosy is empowering. She was educated so that she could earn a living. Two of her daughter were educated and becoming nurses. But after her husband died, supporting the third one would have been difficult without Sasakawa’s scholarship.
The story of Anita Bhavre, who won the Rising with Dignity award in 2012. She had opened a sari shop with her friends, which they ran successfully fighting stigma. Then, later on, she became a healthcare worker. Anita’s life has always been full of challenges. . Her Grandfather and his two brothers were Leprosy affected. Anita’s father Leprosy also affected Anita’s father and the whole family was outcasted. Anita got leprosy when she was in class five. But her family being aware spotted the patch early and her treatment was started quickly. This prevented any deformity.
The story of Rakesh Das, Preparing for CA with S-ILF’s scholarship for higher studies in his own words
I got the scholarship from S-ILF to pursue my dream course in Chartered Accountancy (IPCC) from Mycom Institute due to which my life has changed. Now I can see myself as a successful individual. My goal is to support leprosy-affected children so that they can achieve their goal too.”
Kedavamma, running a livelihood project, Karim Nagar, Andhra Pradesh got a chance to become financially independednt with the help of S-ILF
In her own words,
About ten years ago, I was engaged in begging without a source of a dignified income. Then S-ILF supported me and with their financial support, I now have an independent income. I have one buffalo and two calves and I am earning a decent income with dignity.
How can the Youth help?
The Youth against Leprosy (YAL) is a program, drafted for the young generation who falls in the age group of 16 to 25 years (College Level).
By breaking down, us versus they divide, the youth can interact with youths from leprosy-affected families.
They can spread awareness about early symptoms so that people can get timely treatment
They can use various mediums like theatre, social media, blogs to spread awareness and the stories of the people who are living a life with dignity following help by SILF.
The youth can help prevent the spread of misinformation and the stigma of the disease and disability.
They can spread the story of hope of cure with timely early treatment.
They can promote inclusion and stop discrimination.
Promoting and supporting financial support services and giving access to education and finances for self-reliance, to leprosy-affected and their family
Supporting community-based rehabilitation
They can help hold the hands of those who need it most.
10 Facts you must know about Leprosy
What is Leprosy?
Leprosy Definition: It’s a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae.
How does Leprosy spread? It spreads through droplets, from the nose and mouth, during close and frequent contacts with untreated cases. Mycobacterium leprae multiplies slowly. The incubation period is five years. That means after exposure the disease may occur even five years later. There have been instances where the disease has occurred within one year and as late as 20years.
Leprosy Symptoms: The disease mainly affects the skin, peripheral nerves, mucosa of the upper respiratory tract, and the eyes. Leprosy when untreated or treated late can cause progressive and permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs, and eyes. This is what causes the physical stigma of leprosy.
Limiting disability needs early diagnosis and this is where awareness at the grassroots level, awareness of youth, and social awareness will help.
Early detection and treatment can cure. It can also prevent disability. Managing disability is also important,
Leprosy cure: Treatment is with multidrug therapy including Dapsone, Rifampicin, Clofazimine.
The main challenges are reaching the interiors and leprosy pockets for early detection, treatment, and limiting disability.
Increased surveillance for disease and strong commitment for monitoring continuing treatment
The Indian parliament passed a historical amendment. There were 119 laws that discriminated against leprosy-affected. Leprosy was shockingly a reason for divorce. It was wrongly thought to be an incurable disease. But now that change is made. Then, next change needs to start with you and the youth of India.
Remember these two dates
29th January Youth festival to raise awareness amongst the youth and to eliminate stigmata
30th January World Leprosy Day
Do your part in spreading the word. Share and help spread awareness
Conclusion
Leprosy has a treatment to cure and prevent disability. It should never be pushed to darkness. Let us come forward together to share the stories of those who are fighting all odds. Everyone has a right to a dignified life and living. Together we can help them.
Disclaimer: This is information for awareness.As healthcare information is constantly updated, the blog post is not meant to be a replacement for a doctor consultation, nor is it a medical recommendation or treatments.Any reader of this blog, with problems, should specifically consult his/her doctor for medical conditions and follow the suggested course of treatment’.
I believe if a person is diagnosed with an ailment worst thing one can do to him/her is isolating them by our treatment and thoughts. Thank you for such a detailed post and information.
To be frank I never had an idea about this disease until I read this post. You have explained everything point by point. Great post!
A Must needed Post. This post is so detailed and well explained, It can clear all the doubts people had about leprosy. Very Informative
thanks for this post dr amrita. i thought i knew it all, but your post made me aware of so many other things. awareness in this direction is still needed and it is very important to remove the stigma associated with it.
The organization is doing at a great job at bursting myths around leprosy and helping the people suffering from it. A great initiative!
It is really good to know that these many foundations are working towards helping people in curing leprosy. And you have shared all the necessary information about leprosy.
What an informative piece! Clarifies so many queries I had on the symptoms and the causative factors. But for this, I would have been carrying many myths on leprosy in my mind.
After reading the 10 facts about leprosy i felt like i knew nothing about it. Its such a great awareness post that you are creating by providing a well researched and stressing out on points about how youth can get involved to make a change. Also didnt know that there is a world leprosy day. Much needed awareness to everyone!! #superbloggerchallenge
Today I have learned a lot about Leprosy. Kudos to Sasakawa sponsorship & Nippon foundation for doing a really great job. Thanks for enlightening!
Thank you for this well researched and important piece. It is crucial that we spread awareness and bust some myths around this disease.
A very detailed and informstive post indeed! Raising awareness is the first step to controlling the number of cases in our country. I’d written a post too on WorldLeprosyEradicationDay. We need to end the stigma.
This is an eye opener post for me, Amrita and a very well written one. I was not aware of so many things, until now I used to think that leprosy is contagious and there’s no cure for it. Kudos to Nippon foundation & S-ILF for their amazing work in spreading awareness about this disease. And the Sasakawa scholarships are such a great initiative to empower families with leprosy. Great post!
never gave much of a thought to this disease despite the knowledge that it is a much dreaded deformity disease. It was good to know about it
Thanks for lending your voice on this sensitive topic, Dr. Amrita. It is high time we should stop discriminating in our society and make people aware about the reality breaking the misconceptions.
The kind of posts you are writing to bring awareness among the society is an exemplary need to be appreciated . Thanks for putting up all the information together in a post.
Informative post! Leprosy is a taboo in many Indian societies till date. There is a place called Anandvan near Vardha district, Maharashtra. Dr. Baba Amte was the pioneer in the field of recuperation and prevention of Leprosy. Your post reminded me of him.
Thank you so much for providing more insight on leprosy. Especially the ten facts that one must know. Also got to know the various association that are working towards in helping the cause.
Got a good insight about the Leprosy, nice post
This post is a myth buster and an eye opener. We know about the disease but we don’t know what was the reason behind such discrimination. This post helps
To me this post is an eye-opener. I know there are many who know about this disease but they don’t really have much info about it. This post helps.
A great article Amrita. Many people are still very poorly informed about Leprosy. Kudos to Sasakawa and his organization in making phenomenal efforts and fighting leprosy both by bringing about awareness and also by providing avenues for treatment. Youth for leprosy is also a very promising organization fighting for the cause. And the several stories of people who have left the disease behind and are now living a fruitful and fulfilling life are really inspiring to read about. A very informative and inspiring post.
Thank youuu for this amazing article! It’s cery important to create awareness on this topic!!
You left no stone unturned Amrita. This is a well written post adressing the important points at the very beginning. The reader know where he is going. Amazing.
Mann ????
#superbloggerchallenge2019
Truly Honestly a good and informative post
Everything one need to know about Leprosy is there in the post
Such post is very essential for society too.
Well Done Mam
The majority of people affected by leprosy are believed to experience some form of stigma and discrimination. Up to half of them will face mental health issues, such as depression or anxiety. All my support and I will be happy to help them in any way I can. By working together to end the discrimination and stigma of leprosy, we will be one vital step closer to a world without leprosy.
This is such a detailed post, extremely informative and highly relevant in a society that is progressig fast. We can’t move ahead leaving a section behind n hence this is a wonderful initiative that will uplift the well being of the affected and improve their quality of life by increasing social acceptance.
My dad is a retired dermatologist but I remember him once telling me that our car was cleaned by a leprosy patient in his skin ward . I remember my mom felt a bit odd sitting in the car when she heard this but later on we realised that this was just an in built bias.
I myself found that while I was dropping my kids to school, a beggar with leprosy would stay away from my car while he would beg at the other cars. I think he didn’t want to scare my kids so whenever I was alone in the car, I would roll down my window and give him some money and thank him for being considerate about my kids.
I know that leprosy is not contagious and in fact we hardly see any lepers actively begging in Mumbai….so who knows if there are any lepers amongst us?
Thank you
Thanks for sharing the details with us, this is a real informative post as we all need to be aware of this disease.
Sasakawa India and Nippon Foundation is doing great job in supporting leprosy Patient
Definitely an eye opener for many! So many myths busted and this article has answered so many questions that Leprosy suffering patient or his/her near and dear ones might have. Thanks for sharing.
Sow!! This is such an insightful post. Very elaborate and clear cut points.
Indeed awareness regarding social stigma of the disease and rehabilitation is much needed for complete eradication of this disease
Leprosy relaly has a lot of misconceptions in our society. Glad you chose to talk about this
Very well written and with such sensivity. Great to know so much about SILF and the work they do.
Great effort to break the myths about Leprosy. There is a lot of fear and taboos about this disease especially in India that needs to thrown away.
This a nice initiative Dr. Amrita, Leprosy is something which has a huge social stigma attached to it. Glad you as an expert sharing such details on Leprosy.
Leprosy patients deserve a better life, care and timely treatment..lets spread awareness and break the myths around it..
I always thought that this disease can’t be cured. Many thanks for bringing light on this.
Never know about leprosy in such detail. Thanks for upgrading my awareness about it & let me know about the organization work for it.
Honestly, before reading this I had no idea about what leprosy is? Now I can say that I have some and I can help and give knowledge to people about leprosy.
This is such a detailed and informative post about Leprosy. The Nippon foundation is really doing great work by helping spread awareness of this disease that till today is spoken about in whispers and with which so much social stigma is attached.
This is a detailed post on Leprosy.. Thanks for creating such awareness. Leprosy patients often face discrimination in our society. This is an eye opener..
We need to bring more awareness around the social stigma that the patient faces. This was an onforminfor post.
Thanks for giving awareness about Leprosy… Glad to learn about it so much.. Thanks for detailed post..
I am so glad that you wrote about leprosy and how Sasakava India Leprosy foundation is enabling those who have suffered from the disability post leprosy.Great work !
Thanks Preeti
Glad to learn such valuable facts about Leprosy which otherwise was unknown to me.Thanks for writing about it and spreading the awareness.
Glad you liked it.
Thanks. This was very informative and also good to know about the foundation s work.
Thank you
Never knew leprosy in this much detail. Loved the way you explained it in a descriptive manner.
Thank you
That’s a detailed information about Leprosy. S-ILF is doing amazing job in creating awareness of leprosy.
Thank you
That’s the myth buster post about leprosy. Never know that it’s curable and not contagious. Indeed we all should support this cause
Good that the treatment is affordable/free and this can be treated. Lack of awareness just makes things difficult for both patient and their near and dear ones. Hope this post reaches many people.
Our society treats Leprosy patients very badly and it should change.. The post is an eye opener for many.. Thanks for sharing dear..
Leprosy shouldn’t be treated as a stigma. Those ailing need to be given proper medica help. I was as yet unaware of Leprosy despite having worked for NGOs that help leprosy infected. Sharing it further.
Thanx for the insights on leprosy..there are many myths around it ..we need to spread awareness around this so that more people can get proper treatment on timely manner
Amazing and informative post. This is great initiative for creating awareness about leprosy. Leprosy is the curing disease. Great thoughts.
This is very informative post and will definitely help in creating awareness..Your post helped me understand so many facts about leprosy which I never knew before ✌️
Glad you found this helpful
Leprosy is quite misunderstood, more so in the rural areas and is considered as an untouchable disease. Thanks for raising the awareness.
Thank you for the appreciation
Very well written and informative post. I hope this creates awareness and busts some myths around leprosy. Thanks for sharing!
Really nice to know , the youth is coming forward and working with patients.
I have seen instances, where even cancer patients are discriminated.
Very informative post.
Thanks for sharing useful information about leprosy. There are various myths about it in our society which needs attention
Such a detailed post about Leprosy & Stigma related to it .
Glad to know Sasakawa foundation & Youth are trying to change it.
I do remember the days in my school where we would collect funds for the leoprasy people. And you have given a list of ngos to make them confident in their part to live their dreams! Kudos to this effort! Yes awareness is the key!
Spreading awareness like this is such a good deed. Lets curb this problem together.
You covered this topic so well Amrita. Its important to raise awareness about leprosy so those who need the treatment should not be hesitant. If its free to treat it, i think anyone can get it done. Good to know about YAL and S-ILF
This is a very informative post About Leprosy. Amazing initiative by S-ILF for spreading the awareness about it.
Leprosy effected people need support and encouragement… Discrimination against them is really sad and needs to be stopped! Really appreciate the post!
I don’t know that leprosy is the oldest disease. I appreciate the initiative and social awareness Sasakawa has taken for it.
In this day and age we forget that Leprosy is still quite prevalent. Your article is a good reminder that we need to talk about it to completely eradicate it.
This is extremely informative n relevant. N heartwarming as well. Leprosy patients face a lot discrimination, n this post is enlightening.
This post needs to be read far and wide in order to combat the stigma against leprosy.
Yes the world isn’t much educated about leprosy and this post was very much important for all. I am glad I came across it.
it’s a great initiative by S-ILF to spread awareness and help the patients make a living. The myths and stigma surrounding the disease has been going on since ages it’s the right time to break out of it and fight Leprosy to it’s core.
Agree with you though it’s fully curable disease still the stigma and discrimination attached with this disease still prevails. That’s great initiative by Silf Foundation to give platform to leprosy affected Patients and strength their skills.
Very informative. Indeed there exist so many misconceptions among people regarding leprosy even to this day
Very informative post .Thanks for sharing _()_
What a great idea and what an inspiring cum educative post.
Thank u so much for giving insights on leprosy..there are so many myths around it.. we need to spread more awareness around this so that people can get proper treatment on timely basis
Nice post on Leprosy.Informative and insightful.
Very informative post. Leprosy used to be considered god’s curse on people. Now with advent of medicine it is curable. One needs to spread as much awareness about the disease as possible.
The real life stories of how this foundation has helped numerous people sounds so motivational to me. Its time that we spread awareness around Leprosy .
I was so eager to know its cause and treatment my all answer is here.,So many inspiring stories .hats off to them and they are a real inspiration. The organization is doing a lot .
People have soany myths about Leprosy. S-ILF is doing an awesome job in spreading awareness and also helping many people on various grounds. Thanks for the detailed post.
This is great that more and more organizations and ngo’s are coming forward to bring awareness about leprosy. I only knew about Dr. Baba Amte and his family’s contribution in this field.
Thanks Neha
Thanks, Neha
This is such an informative post, Amrita. There are so many myths surrounding Leprosy and the stigma is high too. Thanks for shedding light on so many aspects of this disease. Kudos to S-ILF for spreading awareness and helping people with Leprosy on so many levels.
Thanks Shilpa
Leprosy patients face discrimination in society Though things have changed a lot from 80s yet awareness is needed. It’s so heartwarming and inspiring to know about people whi fought against the stigma.
Thanks for this Pragnya